Renomitsu

1. In your opinion, which teams need you the most? 2. Other than yourself, who's the most likely 'reach' in the draft (i.e. picked above their TPE)? 3. The VHLM Draft just happened a couple of days ago - how do you feel about your old team's chances? 4. Who was the best locker room influence on you in your minor league season? Why? 5. Are there any teams that you want to be on that haven't contacted you about the draft (don't name names)? If so, why do you think that is? 6. Who's done the best job improving their draft stock other than by increasing TPE? 7. Do you have any draft-day taboos or rituals? 8. You're in a freestyle dance competition and you can have one other player up there dancing your routine alongside you. Who is it, and why? 9. Let's say you can bring only one sentimental item with you to your new home after the draft. What is it? 10. What do you regret, if anything, about this past season?

Review - I think this is a well-constructed insight into the background of your player, and would encourage you to bring this style and creativity to your biography. The fact that you include details about a morning routine, never having been outside of Finland, and connecting your recruiter to your player are all nice touches that make this media spot feel a little homey, even. Good luck in Halifax, and don't be shy about reaching out to other members for questions.

Review - It's hard to evaluate the next season's draftees when there's relatively little time to see them develop, but I liked both content and style here. I also liked how you redirected/re-flavored countries of origin, gaps in TPE earning, and so on. Stylistically, there are a couple of choices that I might make (e.g. "stay-at-home" vs. "stay at home") but those aren't big. Make sure you put commas between multiple adjectives for the same subject!

Review - A lot of personality in this media spot, which is something I love. Very few usage/grammar/spelling errors. I felt like the interview was well-paced and that none of your answers went on too long. I also felt like many of your questions were better than typical sports interview questions, which is always a plus. I laughed out loud at the swiss cheese comment. Sorry for the rough season, hopefully you don't hold it against me!

Review - Glad to see a new member doing good Media Spot work! A lot of very typical sports interview questions (maybe with a little more punch), and a good narrative from the interviewee side (dad's farm, little hints about religiousness) that makes it believable. Couldn't find any spelling or grammar issues. Looking forward to reading more from you!

Review - A rare, but consistent insight from you - always well-appreciated. I see little-to-nothing wrong with your writing style, grammar, spelling, etc. Formatting is logical and easy on the eye, images or not. It feels like, at times, the Nighthawks got a bit unlucky insofar as who was considered active vs. inactive, but I'm glad you got the forwards you wanted. I was intrigued to see how you reasoned through the Glover vs. Moose selection.

Review - Some paragraphs that are a bit long for my taste, but I loved your narrative style and content of your anecdotes. Internally, I definitely read this story with a stereotypical Russian accent (not sure if that's a good or bad thing hah), and there's something to the cadence of your writing that makes it believable. I hope Mac has his sleeping checked out.

Review - A very honest and insightful look into a draftee's mindset. I think some of your metaphors (marriage/pantry) are pretty vivid and honestly I'm a huge fan of it. I like to think that, even after 1,769 (nice) posts, getting drafted still gets the blood pumping. Hopefully things go well for you and you go where you'd like to.

I'm just so glad @StamkosFan ended up recruiting you. Welcome to the league! Review - Ideally, I'd like to see just a liiiittle less reliance on using @StamkosFan's username in your spot. I'm not entirely convinced that some of your lines (e.g. the one about Oryol/Orel) is original, seems a li'l Wikipedia/Youtube description box-like. If that's how you write, that's how you write but please make sure it's coming from your head.

Let's go Wild!!

Saskatoon, SK - As every VHLM GM should (hopefully) know, Apollo Hackett's going straight to the pros. "It wasn't an easy decision. My GM, @Peace, has done so much for me this season getting me acclimated, and I hope that shows based on where I get drafted," Hackett said in a recent presser. "I might have only played 40 games or so, but my buddies on the Wild - Juan @Jus, Nethi @nethi99, Rusty @K1NG LINUS, Emil, Anthony, and even you Ed," he said, laughing as he pointed to teammate Edgar Tannahill, "well, they're all I know, really. The VHL is intimidating. Buncha guys you hear about growing up, you know?" We asked about his thoughts on the Wild next season. "Peace'll have them ready. A few of us from this season end up with the Wild again, no doubt. And I hope I see a few more familiar faces in the pros in Season 67." Hackett has the hopes of his family riding on him as he takes the step up; but many consider his rapid ascent a bit remniscent of his uncle's twenty years ago. When asked about his plans once going to the pros, Apollo shrugged. "Hit some folks, block some shots, and get some assists, I guess. Hoping I can get some early minutes. Otherwise, sky's the limit. I'm planning on doing the wonderful city of Saskatoon proud, and hopefully you guys hear about me sooner rather than later. Maybe Rusty and I can teach forwards a lesson sooner rather than later, eh?"

Would definitely be. I put you there without realizing wing positions were interchangeable so you'd more likely appear 9th or 12th, depending on Riga's needs and who's preferred between you and Shawnomir. I'm also too scared to edit the OP because it'll re-tag everyone lol

Loving these interviews - and glad to see Shawnomir being featured

Whoops, didn't realize that was the case! I'd swap some wingers around in the draft above, but that would re-tag everyone. Thanks for the help regardless - your sheet made it much more organized for me.

Yeah - one of the weird parts of this draft is that Riga had five picks in the first round alone because of a yesterday's trade with Davos. You're absolutely right in saying that you're an obvious logical pick for the first round by the numbers (you're top 6 or 7 in TPE), but the hard part of this draft is that Riga already has two RWs before making a single pick, and Mikko is very slightly higher TPE. Malmo also already has 4 RWs, only 1 D, and 0 LW prior to the draft.

I wouldn't for the world. (As an aside, I'll claim this uhm... eventually?)

Welcome to the S66 VHL MOCK Draft, Presented by the Unofficial VHL Scouting Network! Hosted by me (Renomitsu) with plenty of help from rjfryman! Want to make a mock of your own? Click here! This sheet, made by @rjfryman, will be updated shortly after posting to adjust for recent trades. This mock goes to 40 picks (4 rounds), when almost all picking teams are 3+ players deep at 3+ positions. Now with understanding of wing positions! Round 1 1. Riga Reign – C Hunter Hearst Helmsley @Beaviss HHH has the most TPE of any player in the draft and is one of only two players currently above 300 TPE. He'll crowd the Riga depth chart a bit at center, but gives Riga a lot of wiggle room and trade power. This pick gives the Reign a choice between dominating while fielding a very deep team, or building a team of young stars without sacrificing much current power. Another option is taking Shane Mars, and setting themselves up at a wing spot for a long time. Frankly, that may be the better option, provided HHH is Beavis's player and would likely leave for Vancouver after his rookie contract is up. 2. Vancouver Wolves (from Davos) - LW Shane Mars @Spade18 Mars is the perfect player to fill out Vancouver's LW spot; he'll get second-line minutes from the get-go, with a chance to start over Mulligan by the start of S67. He'll have minutes to play with centers Rauno Palo and Beau Loth, which should do wonders for his rookie season. If the Reign opt for Mars, Beaviss gets his dream fulfilled and can take his own player. 3. Seattle Bears (from Calgary) - LW Julius Freeman @rjfryman The Bears need a left wing - not just for depth, but to have one at all - and Freeman is a no-brainer here. He's ridiculously active, just posted a VHLM mock draft of his own yesterday, and as a brand-new part of the Recruitment Crew, is as close to a guaranteed thing in this league as there is among first-gens. He's a slam-dunk pick for Seattle. 4. HC Davos Dynamo (from Vancouver) - RW Mikko Aaltonen @GRZ Davos is a reasonably deep team already - but they'll want to set up for when newly-acquired S60 oldie Veran Dragomir and prime S62 draftee Ryuu Crimson retire. Aaltonen gives them this option, though he may not have minutes for a little while. 5. Moscow Menace (from New York) - C Jet Jaguar @gorlab I doubt Jaguar plans on falling this far (nobody ever does), but he's the best option at this pick by a handfl of TPE, and gives Moscow an immediate second-liner at center. He'll sit behind S64 draftee Mark Gebauer for a little while, but will have a starting job waiting for him. 6. Riga Reign - LW Dimitri Volosenkov @SirRupertBarnes Volosenkov fills a future and current need, as Riga tries to figure out their wings of the future. He'll take the second LW spot immediately, and the Reign probably look for another wing to put over inactive Kisshan Shan - that'll probably be VHLM standout Shawnomir Jagr unless the Nighthawks take him. 7. Malmö Nighthawks - D Jerry Garcia @GustavMattias With this pick, Malmö picks up a first-pair defender for the foreseeable future. There are four left wingers between 200-230 TPE, so I think Advantage sees the value of a pick at another position of need here and takes Garcia. I also fulfill my daily quota of GustavMattias tagging with this post. 8. Riga Reign (from Seattle) - D Aron Nielsen @solas Seeing Garcia picked at 7 will probably spur the Reign into action; seeing as they've got a ton of picks back-to-back-to-back, they elect to take the next best defender in Nielsen to set their second defensive pair for the next couple of seasons. Charlie Paddywagon is also an option here, but there's a 30+ TPE drop-off between Paddywagon/Nielsen and the next best guy. Riga will try to get a second D if they're available in the second round. 9. Riga Reign (from Helsinki) - RW Shawnomir Jagr @TheLastOlympian07 Riga needs to fill out their wingers - at this point, they have two excellent starters in LW Randoms and RW Preencarnacion, but Preencarnacion is getting older and Riga would like to have a pair of active second-line wings waiting in the... well, wings. Preencarnacion has regression staring him in the face, and randoms is two seasons behind - so Jagr and Volosenkov could be playing starting roles on a competitive team in just a few seasons 10. Moscow Menace (from Toronto) - G Owen May @FacebookFighter Moscow need a goalie? They get a goalie. Now they're on to getting active wings and defensemen. Round 2 11. Moscow Menace - RW Arnor Sigurdsson @bluesfan55 The Menace could opt for a defender here just to get another active one on the books, but I think they opt for the highest-TPE pick here and go for Arnor Sigurdsson. He's very close to Shawnomir Jagr, but since there's a slight TPE difference, we'll say Sigurdsson goes here. The Wranglers get a little uneasy, as the last 250+ TPE winger gets taken off the board by a smart Moscow team. 12. Calgary Wranglers - LW Chico Smeb @xDParK The Wranglers get sweaty palms after Arnor Sigurdsson is taken off the table, and opt for the next best wing in Chico Smeb. They're aware Kari Jurri is inactive, and while Valeri Morozov is another close-to-comparable option, it's a little ways down before you can find another good winger after him. Calgary also doesn't get another pick until Round 4, so they're more-or-less obligated ot take him now. 13. Riga Reign (from Vancouver) - D Charlie Paddywagon @DMaximus This seems like a strange set of picks, but take a look at Riga's roster right now: they're going to be incredibly young at all forward positions with at least two solid lines for the foreseeable future and have a goalie coming into his prime. I think they go for one of the deepest defenses in the VHL, and two easy replacements for Bolt Vanderhuge and Cayden Saint in a few seasons. And yes, I love defense. 14. Vancouver Wolves (from Davos) - G Clayton Park @leafssteen The Wolves reach a little and try to find their goalie of the future in Clayton Park, who would start immediately. Other choices include Bert Meyers and Maximilian Kirbsson, but after Vancouver sees May taken off the board they simply have to take Park here. Seattle will be looking for a goalie to replace S60 draftee Tristan Iseult, and if Park & Bjoernsson are taken by other teams there is a lot of uncertainty past those two. 15. Helsinki Titans (from New York) - LW Valeri Morozov @Dangles13 The Titans desperately need wings - they currently only have S63 star Julian Borwinn on the roster, and while that's nice, he can't play two positions at once on the ice as far as I can tell. The Titans score a much needed winger in Morozov, even with as tempting as taking Bert Meyers or Maximilian Kirbsson is at this juncture. 16. Riga Reign - G Kolur Bjoernsson @jblock3 I mean, what does Riga need at this point? They've got 5 wings, 4 of which are S63 or younger, 5 centers including HHH, and 5 defensemen, two of which they got in this draft. I think the Reign start planning long term and reach mightily for Bjoernsson, just to see if he pans out while Kriketers enters his prime. And maybe to cause some havoc - because there are plenty of teams with goalie needs. 17. Malmö Nighthawks - D Codrick Past @Kylrad The Nighthawks needs to fill their defensive need, and has a tough choice between Codrick Past and Apollo Hackett. It's honestly a toss-up at this point. This'll be up strictly to Advantage's personal preference, as Past and Hackett are within 3 TPE of one another. We'll assume he takes the 199 of Past over Hackett's 197. 18. Vancouver Wolves (from Seattle) - C Bert Meyers @RunnerBert11 Meyers has the talent of a first-rounder, but crowding at the C position pushes him down to the mid-second. Vancouver gets an absolute steal, Meyers gets a chip on his shoulder, and things work out perfectly for GM Beaviss. 19. HC Davos Dynamo (from Helsinki) - G Jus Jaundice @Jus This pick probably looks crazy. And maybe it is. But the gap between Jaundice and the next active goalie is nearly 100 TPE - and the Dynamo could use a better backup in a season or two. The Dynamo also have to have been terrified by Riga's selection of Bjoernsson early in the round - exactly as hedgehog planned. Jaundice's activity has just increased this week - so things are looking up. 20. Seattle Bears (from Toronto) - C Maximillian Kirbsson @Kirby The Bears get an absolute steal in Maximillian Kirbsson, and probably opt to swap him to a winger role. There are plenty of good centers in this draft, and just not enogh spots to let them start early. At this point, it's absurd how far he's fallen and the Bears shouldn't be coy about swapping his position. Round 3 21. Moscow Menace - LW Kyle Sabertooth @uphillmoss Sederstrom and Gruber are still options here - but Sabertooth has been incredibly active, and with three centers on the roster including this draft's Jet Jaguar, the Menace fill a more pressing need. They could opt for a defenseman here, but with this pick have their four wing spots filled with active players. 22. Helsinki Titans (from Calgary) - RW Aleksander Rodriguez @Jtv123 A bit of a reach, but Rodriguez gives the Titans what they need most, plus he's been pretty active. They could opt for a defenseman here, but honestly they need any players that can fill their second line's wing spots. They can afford to wait for a defender. 23. New York Americans (from Vancouver) - RW Mat Tocco @Matmenzinger Tocco will play an important part of transitioning on from the inactive Sven Hitz - assuming he's active, that is. 24. Riga Reign (from Davos) - C Ludvig Sederstrom @aleks In every other season, getting a 200+ TPE player at pick 24 is an absolute steal. It's still a steal in this draft, because of positional needs from teams. Riga has more than enough centers, but could use Sederstrom as trade bait, or maybe if Anthony Matthews doesn't pan out to be a center of the future. Sederstrom may fume at this pick - and by most metrics, he deserves to be higher - but there were four centers above him in TPE and the VHL has plenty of center talent already. My guess is Riga asks someone to change positions - but where would Sederstrom switch to? He may become a second option at RW when Reencarnacion retires, or even a starter outright if Jagr or Volosenkov don't pan out. 25. Moscow Menace (from New York) - D Apollo Hackett @Renomitsu It's a little tacky to tag myself, but whatever. Hackett falls way further than expected, and lands with Moscow. He'll have a starting spot sooner rather than later, especially with Fitzgerald and Bronstein inactive, but it remains to be seen if he'll flourish like some of the higher-rated defenders in this draft. 26. Riga Reign - LW Edgar Tannahill (gregreg) Malmö get winger depth, and it's an incredibly-promising player in Tannahill. He has a fiery attitude, isn't afraid to smack-talk or voice his opinion, and will easily help set the tone in the Reign locker room if he would like. He has a chance to be a leader for his team from season one or two if he so chooses - but will this room of old heads and high draft picks let him? 27. Malmö Nighthawks - C Hans Gruber @TheFlash The Nighthawks snag the last mid-to-high quality center in the draft for depth, and even though Sederstrom's picked 24th, this is still a steal. Advantage should be ecstatic if Gruber is still available here, but honestly provided the abundance of active centers in the VHL it's not unbelievable to see him fall this far. It just means he'll have a couple of seasons to shine like crazy later in his career. 28. Vancouver Wolves (from Seattle) - D Rusty Shackleford @K1NG LINUS Vancouver want to find players they can build up behind S61 vets Samuel Gate and Marvin Harding, and they'll get an active member (and a steal) in Rusty Shackleford. 29. Helsinki Titans - RW John Frostbeard @FrostBeard A newer member that recently was appointed to a VHLM GMship, John Frostbeard would seem to have a future of activity underneath his belt. He's a consistent welfare-taker, and will be a solid addition to Helsinki's roster. Not only that, he'll get excellent second-line minutes behind Arnor Sigurdsson. 30. Helsinki Titans (from Toronto) - D Beau Buefordsson @Radcow The Titans currently only have three defenders - they fix that by picking up new-blood Beau Buefordsson. Round 4 31. Moscow Menace - D Edward Vigneault @Patpou22 Moscow need depth at defender, and they get it with Vigneault. Lew Bronstein's TPE isn't going anywhere fast, and Vigneault will most likely be able to be an immediate starter if he chooses to come up; otherwise, the Menace are more than happy to watch him grow in the minors over the next season. He may, in fact, be a better prospect than Amberback - but it's too close to tell. 32. Calgary Wranglers - D Anthony Amberback @Oost Defensive need? Defenseman given. Anthony Amberback rounds out the Calgary defense. I consider Vigneault and Amberback interchangeable at this point. 33. Moscow Menace (from Vancouver) - RW AJ Axelsen @littleboi Moscow find themselves a steal with Axelsen, who's gained 52 TPE in the last three weeks. He's a regular welfare/MS poster and could have a chance at a regular backup or fringe starting spot in the future. Like most picks after round 3, he's a bit of a gamble - but a look at his activity history should be enough to sway the GM. They play with fire, but have the picks to take a gamble. 34. HC Davos Dynamo - RW Emil Passerelli @SparrowLTD Passerelli is a bit of a gamble, since his TPE gaining is a bit limited from week to week. Davos takes Passerelli as insurance in case Svoboda or Warren go inactive - which is unlikely, but possible. 35. Moscow Menace (from New York) - D Samuel Sparrow @Birdman His activity is spotty on occasion, but Samuel Sparrow can be a nice fourth D-man, either as a future first/second liner or as a stopgap player depending on Birdman's activity. Frankly, his potential spans between multiple-season first-liner and two-season fifth D-man. I like this pick better than Parkey, who seems to have gone inactive. He'll be exactly what Moscow wants, and may be able to replace current defenders as soon as mid-late next season due to activity. 36. Riga Reign - C Rhys Chism @Jables Frankly, I'm not sure what Riga go for here. Chism could be good trade bait as Reign continues to collect centers. 37. Malmö Nighthawks - LW Cody Smith @cody73 The Nighthawks will be tempted to take another defenseman to round out both pairs, but with 3 between 85-105, and several more around 70, they elect to take some winger depth and hope for good defensemen next draft. 38. Seattle Bears - D Guillaume Fontenette @okocha5 Fontenette is nabbing around 12 points a week on average. That's excellent, especially for a 4th-round pick. Still, in my opinion, a better pick than Cody Parkey due to activity level in spite of the TPE deficit. His recent activity may end up putting him over Sparrow. 39. Helsinki Titans - LW Devin Gabella @Gabella19 Gabella is another pick at slightly above his projection, but he provides some depth to the Titans' winger spot and has been pretty active the last few weeks. I think the Titans take the dive. 40. Calgary Wranglers (from Toronto) - LW Dylan Doyle @zepheter Doyle is another recently-active pick that fills a depth position for the Wranglers, and he closes out our mock!

1. What two other S66 draftees would you like to see on your future VHL team? 2. What are your goals for Mississauga next season? Do you see yourself staying active & as its GM for five seasons? 3. What song do you use to pump yourself up before a game? 4. What song's your guilty pleasure? No softball answers! 5. What steps are you taking to set the pace in Mississauga's locker room next season? 6. Favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor? (sorry, I had to)

1. You're coming off a huge victory over Halifax, who was favored mid-season for the cup. Does this change your expectations for the VHL? 2. How do you feel about the "I'LL BE YOUR ERNIE" signs that appeared after your first playoff series win? Any interesting experiences with those fans? 3. Your agent was picked up pretty quickly for an Assistant GM job. What's your secret? 4. How do you feel about all of the new-blood GMs and teams in VHLM? Any one in particular you're excited for? 5. In your opinion, what needs to be done to a) continue recruiting large numbers of new members, and b) retain the ones we've gotten this season? 6. Let's suppose it's season 70: you've just finished off a contract and are heading into free agency. What's most important in deciding where you'll go?

EASTERN CONFERENCE (A2) Boston Bruins vs. (WC2) Columbus Blue Jackets Winner: Boston # of Games: 6 (M2) New York Islanders vs.(WC1) Carolina Hurricanes Winner: NYI # of Games: 6 WESTERN CONFERENCE (C3) St. Louis Blues vs. (WC1) Dallas Stars Winner: Blues # of Games: 6 (P2) San Jose Sharks vs. (WC2) Colorado Avalanche Winner: AVs # of Games: 6

Congrats! They've both been insanely active (rj on the forums especially, Dil on the discord especially); this is well-deserved.

Too bad this series didn't go all the way. WP to both teams!

Yikes. That's not how I would've wanted the series to end.

Saskatoon, SK - It's been over a week since the end of the regular season, and as a result, Saskatoon's last game. Following the end of the VHLM finals, which featured the Minnesota shut down a comeback by Halifax just yesterday, Apollo Hackett and a couple of buddies stepped out of the Congress Beer House on 2nd and 21st. They eased tensions in a brewing fight between one of the few Storm and 21st fans outside the Saskatoon bar, drawing a little heckling in the process. Thankfully, the Wild defenseman seemed mostly unfazed. "Yeah, part of the job. I bet you Minnesota players still get a good heckler here and there, and they just won the championship," Hackett said with a laugh, "but I love this city. I owe a lot to them, even after just a season." The most recent draft projections have Hackett going in the third round - far above his original position a week into joining the league. Progressively more reliable sources suggest that Hackett may immediately make the leap into the VHL, provided he puts in enough work this offseason. One other such defenseman, Charlie Paddywagon, was recently involved in a match-fixing scandal. "I mean, people outside the league are free to bet as they wish. I hope they find out the truth about Charlie, and that it goes in his favor," the defenseman responded, a bit more serious, "but that's not really something to discuss outside a pub, now is it?"

Well, it's not the game 7 I wanted but it's a game 7 nonetheless